As Steve observes, “there’s not much comedy to be had from the ugliness of the current outburst of anti-Semitism in the aftermath of October 7.” As it happens, there was a time when an outburst of anti-Semitism brought on a rapid comic response.
In 1984 the Rev. Jesse Jackson ran for president. During a conversation with Washington Post reporter Milton Coleman, Jackson referred to Jews as “Hymies,” and New York City as “Hymietown.” That caught the attention of Eddie Murphy, who played the role of Jackson on the February 2, 1984 broadcast of “Saturday Night Live.”
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Jesse Jackson. Yes, I was recently quoted in the Washington Post as referring to a certain group of people as ‘hymies.’ It also said that I called New York ‘Hymietown.’ I realize that kind of talk isn’t kosher. But let me see if I can explain it to you all in song,” backed by a trio of singers.
I want to form a new coalition,
of soul people and bagel people.
From the Chitlin’ District, to the Diamond District.
From catfish to gefilte fish.
We all need to live as one.
I want to look out over the crowd and see both leather hats and yarmulkes side by side
And so on, in period style. As Carly Simon might say, nobody does the Rev. Jesse Jackson better, and check out “White Like Me,” for Eddie’s take on racial disparities.
The Rev. Jackson apologized for “Hymietown” but refused to denounce prominent anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan. The Nation of Islam leader threatened Coleman and warned Jews that “if you harm this brother, I warn you in the name of Allah, it will be the last one you harm.” It took guts for Eddie to work up that tune, but in those days the best comics were fearless and non-partisan.
Should that be doubted, check out SNL’s “Dukakis After Dark,” never equaled to this day. True, the antics of Joe “You ain’t black” Biden and cackling Kamala Harris are hard to top, but comics and satirists should accept the challenge – especially in the wake of 10/7. The squalid “Squad”—Ilhan Omar, Rashid Tlaib, Corrie Bush, etc—are richly deserving targets.
In The Producers, Steve recalls, “Springtime for Hitler” director Roger De Bris confesses he never knew the Third Reich meant Germany. With anti-Semitism on the rise again, today De Bris might say, “I never knew National Socialism meant Nazism. It’s drenched with historical goodies like that.”
Back when Saturday Night Live was actually funny:
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